Good Camera for Shooting Sports

I was looking for any suggestions for a good, hopefully not super expensive camera for shooting sports highlights. Traditional cameras, like my older SONY HDR-FX7 where my got to... yes I know it was HDV. DSLR's aren't really for this type of shooting, at least that's what it seems to me, but I really like the idea of the Black Magic Cinema Camera. I'm thinking that would prove very difficult for sports though.

Any opinions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

depends on how 'pro' your needs are.
A killer-criteria is 'broadcast standards', e.g. 4:2:2 compression - which most 'cheap' cams don't fulfill, as my following suggestions:

I like my Panasonic hc-v707 (US#: 700) - looks tiny, but big inside, offers a - my standards! - superb pic; fast auto-focus (sports…), very wide zoom range (I'm shooting soccer, green is ~120m wide), allows 1080/50p (US:60p) with 28mbps - I'm happy with that.

My criteria for a sports-cam:
fast auto-focus and/or NO shallow focus due to big sensor; at last 50p; wide zoom-range; battery life should last a half-time at last (due to lots of zooming, I'm 'eating' batteries); weather sealed would be nice2have, tripod-umbrella in use here… 

Next stop in shopping… I'm interested in:
• Panasonic hcv 757 (US# ??), which offers constant/unlimited 1080/120p
• Lumix FZ1000 - 4k (=re-framing!), and 720/120p (!) for slowmo, plus some - I was told - super pic quality; and again, as a 'bridge', with a nice zoom-range, 25-400mm; and is famous of for fastest&precisest auto-focus.
• a friend is looking for the Sony RX10, which has a constant speed of f2.8 btw 25-400mm; a firmware patch lately added 120p and XAVC (I was told, is superior to AVCHD)

… from the hobbyist corner, all suggestions (way… ) below 1k€

A BMPC is imho nonsense for sports (or amateur in toto): no auto-focus, weak battery life; no audio; … whole handling is made for 'scenic', fully-equipped you need a huge rig (pocket-cam - HA!) = extra $$$, not for 'run'n shoot' made

… no idea about the pro-league of cams, that is beyond my hobbyist-budget.

Interesting - I'm researching all these for hobbyist/semipro use as well.

The Panasonic model you refer to is the V750 in the US. Does 1080p120fps! It's $600 but every so often is marked down to $550. 1/2 inch sensor.

The FZ1000 has lots of features, however, when shooting 120fps it locks exposure, focus, zoom, etc. For me, shooting sports I want to at least zoom in and out on the action. $900, 1 inch sensor.

The XAVC-S, 120fps, and recent price drop have me also looking at the RX10. However, the lens is 24-200, not 24-400. $1000, 1 inch sensor.

Another option but something of a gamble is the upcoming Sony X70. An XDCAM version of the AX100/CX900, it does not include 4K or 120fps, but does have XAVC (not -S) with 10-bit 4:2:2 and XLRs. $2300, with a 4K (and hopefully 120fps) upgrade available later this year or early 2015 (cost is being predicted at $400-$500). 1 inch sensor. Should be released later in Sept.

Then there's the supposedly upcoming Canon 7D Mk2

thanks ddixon for 'updating' my info … me weak mind, lazy to google before post

yeah, when you leave the cozy place <1000 bucks, there are some very interesting news and not-so-new devices announced; or, e.g. that famous F5-hack lately, which teaches with a simple, new text-file (!!) 4k to some cam... LOL!

In that, my perspectives, too-high price-ranges, there are new-comers as Sonys A7s (which could with a pricey auto-focus zoom a beast of a sports-cam), and for sure, those FF-devices you mentioned, etc etc...

I guess, aside wallet-size, 'sports' itself defines must-haves and -nots; to mention GoPro, underwater-housings, low-light-performance, etc. etc... Before shopping, you should really define your Must-Have-list,

As a hobbyist, I'm excited about all these new cams and options - for some needs, you get breathtaking results with really cheap [strike]toys[/strike] devices! Even an iPhone 5s is an excellent sports cam… for some sports, … Chess?

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! The Song PXW-X70 definately seems to be the most interesting one. I have a higher end Canon Xixia as my only camera at the moment for vacations and stuff so I was looking for something a little outside the some of the similar type cameras suggested.

I've also been looking at the Canon XA20, anyone have experience with that one?

The Nikon D3300.

You can pay a lot more, but no camera does anything significantly better than the D3300 for most people's photography. Especially if you have kids in sports, a DSLR like the D3300 is a huge step up from a point-and-shoot or iPhone because it can zoom-in (especially with a telephoto lens) and focus fast enough to track all the action.

You can pay more for fancier cameras, but no camera takes better pictures than a D3300. The reason guys like me pay more for fancier cameras isn't for better pictures; it's for more controls and options that let us few who actually know how to use all these controls to get to them faster. The D3300 has the same adjustments, just that you'll more often have to use a menu to set them instead of a knob or button. If you shoot all day every day as I do, it's worth it, otherwise, there's no reason to pay more since most people have no idea what these other settings do.

Thanks for the Nikon suggestion, though I'm looking at getting a camera for Videography purpossess, not for photography.

The D3300 does 1080 video quite well.

But is a DSLR ideal for sports shooting with its size/time limitations?

If you are doing run-and-gun, there are all sorts of rigs you can get for them that make it very suited for sports.

If you need longer recording times, you can get recorders that will take care of that.

All depends on your needs and what you're comfortable with.